Recently, I’ve been seeing many posts on social media about having time to do productive activities during COVID-19. There have been ones that have called out people, saying that if they aren’t starting a new routine for the future, that they are doing something wrong. There have been ones listing what productive things can be done or that the author is personally doing (working on starting a new business, learning to cook, getting a solid workout routine started, learning something new) with all the extra time we have. And, while I am not necessarily bashing those posts for encouraging people to try something new, I do think that during this time of deep emotion, physical, mental, and possibly spiritual turmoil, it is okay to not come out of this with a beautiful new lifestyle.

Our world is in chaos right now and for some of us, it is taking everything we can to keep our head above water while we work online; to get our shit done and still be able to go to bed each night. Or, we might not even have the privilege of working from home or being in a healthy, safe environment. We might be worried for our lives or the lives of people around us. We might struggle with depression, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, or any of the bountiful mental illnesses that might be negatively affected by COVID-19. We might wake up every day terrified that today might be the day we lose our business, our family members, our friends, our income, our mental wellbeing, our job, our lifestyle that may or may not have been consistent and “healthy” before the virus struck.

So, I just want to say, that it is perfectly fine to care for your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health first. It’s okay to not be society’s definition of productive. It’s okay if you can’t come out of this with a new routine down. It’s okay to rest and to take this time to do what you can. It’s okay if it takes everything in you just to get through the day, the week, the month. It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay.